GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks extend losing streak as higher yields bite, Nvidia results in focus
BY Reuters | TREASURY | 01:32 AM EDT(Updates prices before European open)
* Treasury yields hit new highs overnight, steady in Asia
* Japan's Nikkei falls 1.5%, Wall St futures a tad lower
* Oil prices still elevated, yen hovers around 159 per dollar
By Stella Qiu
SYDNEY, May 20 (Reuters) - Asian stocks extended a
losing streak on Wednesday as war-driven inflation fears
hammered bonds, while investors awaited earnings from Nvidia
The sell-off in global bond markets persisted as investors ramped up bets that the Federal Reserve may need to increase interest rates this year.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hit a 16-month high of 4.687% overnight, while the 30-year yield climbed to 5.198%, levels not seen since 2007.
The gloom is set to spill into European stock markets when they open, with region-wide stock futures down 0.7%. Nasdaq futures slipped 0.1% while the S&P 500 futures eased 0.2%. Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday, with Brent crude futures off 0.5%, but staying above $110 a barrel at $110.7. The Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed and U.S. President Donald Trump said he might need to strike Iran again, a day after he said he was postponing an imminent attack to allow for more negotiations with Tehran.
In Beijing, less than a week after Trump's high-profile
visit, Chinese leader Xi Jinping held talks with Russian
President Vladimir Putin, saying it was imperative to stop the
war in the Middle East.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
fell 0.7% on Wednesday, down for a fourth
straight day, while Japan's Nikkei dropped 1.5%, down
for a fifth consecutive session.
South Korea's KOSPI fell 1.7%. Samsung Electronics
China's blue-chip CSI300 index was flat, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index skidded 0.6%. "At this point of time, it remains my base case that we are seeing a corrective pullback after an absolutely phenomenal rally," said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG. "The U.S. yields obviously are creating some rumbles in the market and now attracting a lot of attention.
"Nvidia
The chipmaking giant will announce first quarter earnings after the market close on Wednesday. Expectations, as always, are sky-high. Revenue is projected to increase by almost 80% to nearly $79 billion, according to the median forecast in an LSEG survey of analysts.
Treasuries nursed losses in Asia, with the yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes holding steady at 4.6613%, having jumped 21 basis points in the past three sessions. The 30-year yield was flat at 5.1795% after a 17 basis point jump from last Thursday. The dollar stood near a six-week high against its major peers. It was steady at 158.95 yen, having gained for seven straight sessions that unwound most of the intervention-driven losses on April 30 when Japanese authorities stepped into the market to safeguard the yen at the 160 mark. The euro last bought $1.1597, having touched its lowest level since April 8 overnight. The British pound was at $1.3391, not far from the six-week low it touched earlier this week.
Gold prices slipped 0.4% to $4,463 an ounce, the lowest since the end of March as the U.S. dollar gained.
(Reporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
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